Science in the Classroom is a collection of annotated research papers and accompanying teaching materials designed to help students understand the structure and workings of professional scientific research.

Classify It! App

Classify It! lets you test your knowledge of how various organisms can be sorted and grouped. To do this, you are challenged to play through three different modes: Easy, Intermediate, and Advanced. Each mode has 10 levels plus a bonus section. You earn a Creature Card each time you get 100% for a level. Plus, you can win three more Creature Cards in the fast-paced bonus section!

To begin, you should start by choosing your avatar by tapping on the "Change Player" box. You can choose and name your own avatar from among twelve organisms. Once you have your avatar, you're ready to start playing. You can go into any mode but you have to play through a mode from the first level on up. The first time you play, you'll get a brief tutorial on how to play the game.

Going Further

You can use this app to help build on your students' understanding of the classification of organisms. It would be a good way to help students understand that many kinds of organisms can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features to decide which organisms belong to which group. The app also helps demonstrate how classification systems are frameworks used by biologists and demonstrates how living organisms can be classified in a variety of ways.

Since playing through the app can be time consuming, one way to use it would be to divide your students into groups and have each group play through a mode. You could ask your students questions based on the categories and organisms found in a particular mode.

You also can make use of the Creature Cards that students can earn while playing the game. The cards provide interesting information about various organisms from all five kingdoms, from the lowly amoeba to the majestic polar bear. Students can use the information on the cards as a springboard to learn more about the organisms.